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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Just for You to Know, by Cheryl Harness

When Carmen's family moves to their new town, she can't imagine anything worse than the embarrassment that her large family causes her. As the eldest and the only girl, her brothers are an endless source of pain and suffering. But then the arrival of a baby sister and a tragic loss raises the stakes and Carmen comes to realize that life can be a lot worse and there are bigger issues to worry about.

Set in 1963, the novel is speckled with gratuitous historical references (not to the culture or mores of the time, but just headlines) that seem designed to make the book educational (in the dull sense). The story itself is fine, but not outstanding, and this is mostly an average read. Since I'm not a big fan of historical fiction (and this one doesn't really need its historical setting for anything), I did not enjoy this one very much.

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About Me

Would You Like Me To Review Your Book?

I review books written for teens. My primary interests are interpersonal relations and coming of age stories (which overwhelmingly are targeted at teenage girls for whatever reason!). I look for originality, readability, humor, and poignancy. I have a soft spot for a book that makes me cry.